Debbie Kizer is a local artist who started up a nonprofit arts service organization in 1996, although at the time, she didn’t know that this was what she was doing.

"I first partnered with Art Spark Texas around 1998, when I was looking for a fiscal sponsor for a nonprofit project. My project had been housed by Austin Community Foundation but I was looking for support in the arts."

Finding Art Spark (then called VSA of Texas) offered the opportunity to not only integrate into the arts but also into the disability community. As a result, the nonprofit that she founded - Imagine Art, established itself with a strong identity in the intersection of art and disability.

"Art Spark changed how I saw myself, as both an artist and an arts administrator. Prior to this partnership, I did not know that this work existed and that others were deeply engaged in this same work and mission."

Art Spark became an anchor for Debbie and for Imagine Art - helping them grow into who they would become as an organization. They benefitted from practical support - how to create a budget, how to write a grant, how to manage a project.

"We also tapped into an existing network of artists and arts organizations that carried a similar vision," says Debbie.

"That was 28 years ago. If someone stepped into that moment with me, they would see an artist who was uncertain, doubtful, needy, and uneducated about how, where, and what to do next. They would hear a million questions, and they would feel the great unknown that I felt back then. I was embarking on a new career, and I had laid everything else down for this. I needed it to be viable."

Debbie goes on to talk abouut those earlier Imagine Art days: "Art Spark Texas made it possible for Imagine Art to grow its legs and start walking! I appreciate that Art Spark did not hang onto Imagine Art. Instead, they made us grow up and grow on to be our own 501c3. They knew we were meant to be more than a program or a project, and that we needed that boot in the butt to take it to the next level. I was scared and would have preferred to stay put (as a program, as a sponsee), but looking back 30 years, I am very grateful that they supported us to grow beyond their own border."

- Debbie Kizer